


Silently Watching

by Healy



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Chocolate Box Exchange, Fae & Fairies, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-09 15:41:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13484634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Healy/pseuds/Healy
Summary: Stan's not so good at open affection, and Mabel is starting to accept that. But sometimes, she wishes he were better at it.





	Silently Watching

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DesertScribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertScribe/gifts).



“Dipper!” Mabel cried, almost out of breath. “Wait for me! I haven’t even got my shoes on yet.”

“Hurry up!” her brother replied. “We’re gonna miss the pixie parade in five minutes!” The “pixie parade” was an event where the pixie population of Gravity Falls migrated back to their fairy spawning cave, where a treasure of incredible worth was rumored to be stored. At least, that’s what the guidebook Dipper found in a dusty corner of the Gravity Falls Library said.

Mabel searched the Shack’s living room floor for her tennis shoes. “I know they’re around here somewhere...” she muttered. “I kicked them off around here when we watched the movie last night.”

Suddenly, she bumped into Stan. “These yours?” he said, holding up a pair of shoes.

Mabel blinked. “Oh yay, you found them!” She grabbed the shoes and shoved them on. “Thank you so much, Grunkle Stan!”

“Yeah, well, don’t leave your stuff all over the house,” Stan grumbled.

Mabel was already rushing to the door before he could finish. “Bye! Gotta go see the fairies!” she called out behind her.

“Good luck with that!” Stan shouted. “You’re never gonna find anything!”

But Mabel was already out the door.

* * *

Dipper and Mabel hiked through the woods, fallen leaves crunching beneath their footsteps. They’d been following the pixies for almost an hour now, but they’d lost the trail around the last turn. If they didn’t find it again soon…

Suddenly, Mabel stopped, tugging her brother’s arm. “Shh, Dipper!” she whispered harshly.

“Huh?” said Dipper softly. “What’s up?”

“I think someone’s following us,” Mabel whispered. “See that shadow, behind that tree?” She pointed it out to him.

Dipper squinted into the far distance. “No… No, I don’t….”

For a moment, both of them were silent, watching the forest for any movement, listening for any sounds. If Mabel strained her ears hard enough, she could almost hear the slight _huff, huff_ of someone’s strangely familiar breathing. But….

“It’s just the wind, Mabel,” whispered Dipper. “C’mon, let’s—” He was interrupted by a rock whooshing past his ear. It hit something small and indistinct in the air and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Dipper immediately crouched on the ground to see what the rock had hit. “Mabel, look!” he cried, holding up a limp, winged figure. “It’s a pixie! C’mon, the rest of them must be nearby.” 

“But what about—”

“There’s no time to waste! Come on!” He shoved the dead pixie in his backpack and ran to search for the others, dragging his sister along by the arm.

It wasn’t long before they heard the distinct, bell-like laughter of a parade of pixies. “Dipper! We’re getting close!” Mabel called out.

“Finally!” said Dipper. “This is our big chance!” Together they laughed as they ran through the woods, chasing after the pixie court.

That was the last thing Dipper and Mabel remembered before they blacked out.

* * *

Mabel woke up that afternoon in her bed, feeling dizzy and… itchy. “ _Ugh_ , what happened?”

“ _Ohhhhh_ ,” her brother groaned in the bed beside her. “I have _so many_ rashes.”

“Looks like we didn’t get that fairy treasure,” Mabel groaned.

Just then their Grunkle Stan burst into their room. “Rise and shine, kids! Oh good, you’re already up.”

“Grunkle Stan, I’m so glad to see you!” said Mabel. “But... how did we get up here?”

“Oh, that.” Stan chuckled. “See, just a while ago I remembered I was gonna have you kids wash Gompers. So, I hustled over to where you were on your ‘ _Mystical Fairy Hunt_ ’ or whatever. Found you two passed out on a pile of leaves. It was a real mess. Had to get Soos’s help to carry you here.”

“But wait, how did you find us?” asked Dipper. “I mean, we were pretty deep in the woods--”

But Stan waved him off before he could finish. “Don’t ask stupid questions,” Stan snorted. “Now, who wants some calamine lotion?”

“Ooh! Me! Me!” both twins cried, and the matter was forgotten. For a while.

* * *

“What’s up, Mabel? You need anything?” Stan was sitting in the living room like he always did, drinking a can of Pitt Cola.

“Grunkle Stan, you weren’t… following us back there, were you?” Mabel asked.

“What d’ya mean, ‘back there’?” Stan asked.

“You know, when me and Dipper were out in the woods yesterday.”

Stan took a swig of his soda. “Nah,” he said. “You know I don’t go in for that mumbo-jumbo junk. You were just hearing things, that’s all.”

“Oh, was I?” Mabel asked in a suspicious tone. “And just where would I be hearing things, _hmm?_ ”

“Oh, whoops, gotta go!” Stan yelled as he jumped off his chair. “Just remembered there’s a sale on fake beaver fur at the craft store aaaand the fish tank needs more water! Well bye and don’t follow me Mabel!!” He was out of the door in a flash, leaving Mabel, once again, with more questions than answers.

* * *

“I just don’t get it, Wendy.” Mabel was lying down on the floor of the Shack’s gift shop, putting the finishing touches on her drawing, while Wendy worked the counter. “Stan knows we love him, and _we_ know Stan loves us, and _he_ knows that we know that, so why does he have to be so _weird_ about it?”

“Eh, I dunno.” Wendy took a bite out of the sandwich that she had hidden under the counter. “I think it’s some kind of dude thing. You know, like beards, or yelling at the TV when sports is on.”

“Hmmm.” Mabel paused her scribbling to look over her drawing. “Dipper doesn’t do that.”

“Pffft, they probably got a special class for that in high school. That’s my theory, anyway.” Wendy finished the rest of her sandwich and tossed the crust in the wastebasket. “Besides, Stan’s got some weird issues with supernatural junk. This one time, he burned one of Soos’s alien abduction books right in front of him!”

“Wow, that’s crazy!” Mabel couldn’t suppress a slight chuckle. “Poor Soos, though.”

“Eh, it’s okay. I got him a new video game to make up for it.” Wendy leaned over the counter. “So, can I look at that now?”

Mabel sat up and held up her drawing for Wendy. It depicted Stan, in his trademark Mr. Mystery outfit, hitting a (rather large, considering the scale) pixie with a rock. Underneath that, in neon bright lettering, were the words “ _Thank You_ ”. “What do you think?” asked Mabel.

“You should definitely add some more blood,” answered Wendy. “It’ll make it more dramatic. Ooh, and some blue lines for the magic, too.”

Mabel smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.” This Thank-You card was gonna be _awesome_.


End file.
